Cargo Heater

[roscoesdad]

The cargo heater in my 2005 HR Ambassador has bit the dust. I have taken it out and hooked it directly to 12 volts. the fan will run but the heat element will not work. I am thinking about purchasing 12 v volt truck CHEAP CERAMIC portable heater fan dc | eBay and using the existing wiring and thermo disc. Has anyone tried this or any other replacement. The original replacement heater is $120.

[nodine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by roscoesdad The cargo heater in my 2005 HR Ambassador has bit the dust. I have taken it out and hooked it directly to 12 volts. the fan will run but the heat element will not work. I am thinking about purchasing 12 v volt truck CHEAP CERAMIC portable heater fan dc | eBay and using the existing wiring and thermo disc. Has anyone tried this or any other replacement. The original replacement heater is $120.

Many of us have repaired the Cargo Heater by replacing the internal thermal fuse. I started a thread on this a few years ago and there have been several other threads. Do a search in the Monaco section for thermal fuse and you should be able to bring up the old conversations.

Here is one:
Wet bay heater quit working on Endeavor

and another:
Bay Heater


Bob

[roscoesdad]

Replaced the thermal fuse, it was bad, but still no work. It appears no voltage is coming out of the curcuit board. I have voltage going in but none coming out to the element. The element has 2 black wires coming from board to element. They are labled Heater, J5-2 and J5-1. There are also 2 red wires from board to something between the black wires. On the board the red wires are labled STAT, J2-2 and J2-1. No power from board to either of these.

I unpluged the black wire from J2-2 on the board. Put 12 volts on it and the voltage carried through the element and out the other black wire. Still no heat. If the element was bad, would the current travel through? Hope I have not confused you. Appreciate your help.

Larry

[ArmyEOD]

The temp have to be down for these to work, mine kicks on at 35-40 degress. Are you sure it want work when it gets cold? Just an idea.

[roscoesdad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArmyEOD The temp have to be down for these to work, mine kicks on at 35-40 degress. Are you sure it want work when it gets cold? Just an idea.

Well since I put 12 volts directly to the heater, does it matter what the temp is? I have the heater out on the workbench, not in the mh,

[The Danes Are Coming]

We have had 2 cargo heaters and both have broken after very limited use.

Unfortunately we don't possess the required electrical skills to look for or indeed repair the internal fuse.

Next time we go to a place where the wet bay may be subjected to freezing temperatures we intend to place a worklight like this in the bay. Unless the temperature drops dramatically we are convinced that the radiating heat from above, combined with this worklight, will keep the bay frost free.

[roscoesdad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Danes Are Coming We have had 2 cargo heaters and both have broken after very limited use. Unfortunately we don't possess the required electrical skills to look for or indeed repair the internal fuse. Next time we go to a place where the wet bay may be subjected to freezing temperatures we intend to place a worklight like this in the bay. Unless the temperature drops dramatically we are convinced that the radiating heat from above, combined with this worklight, will keep the bay frost free.

I have used that method in the past. I have found myself at a campground that had a 50 amp service, but no 20 amp. I then had to run a extension cord under the MH from the outside receptacle to the light.I just hate having a unit available and it not working. I think I will go back to my original plan of installing a cheap 12 volt heater as a replacement and use the existing wiring.

[nodine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by roscoesdad I have used that method in the past. I have found myself at a campground that had a 50 amp service, but no 20 amp. I then had to run a extension cord under the MH from the outside receptacle to the light.I just hate having a unit available and it not working. I think I will go back to my original plan of installing a cheap 12 volt heater as a replacement and use the existing wiring.

I have always been leery of the 12 volt cargo heater and have permanently installed a 120 VAC ceramic heater beside the original cargo heater. This small heater has a thermostat and two speed fan. I ran a high quality extension cord from the engine block heater 110 volt receptacle at the radiator to the wet bay. I never turn this heater off as we don't require the engine block heater and have it unplugged. We also have a second cube heater installed on the opposite side of the wet bay and plugged in to the outlet adjacent to the water heater. Probably overkill but we do not winterize the motorhome and it sits by the house when we are not using it. Has been fine down to 6 degrees and we have remote temp monitoring that we can read from inside the stick house.

The down side to this is driving in very cold temps but we can run the generator if the 12 volt cargo heater craps out.

I think there is a relay in the cargo heater that is energized by the snap disk to supply high current 12 volt DC to the heating element. Make sure the 5 amp fuse in the run bay is good and the 20 amp fuse for the heating element is good. Yes you should be able to get the heater to work on the bench by directly connecting to a 12 volt dc source, but that source needs to be able to deliver 20 amps. Also, these heaters don't put out much heat so don't expect it to get real hot.

Bob

[ArmyEOD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by roscoesdad Well since I put 12 volts directly to the heater, does it matter what the temp is? I have the heater out on the workbench, not in the mh,

Like I said it was only an idea, you are the one who asked for help. Anyway hope it all works out for you.

[roscoesdad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArmyEOD Like I said it was only an idea, you are the one who asked for help. Anyway hope it all works out for you.

I am sorry if I came across strong. I did not mean to sound that way. I do appreciate all the input each person gives. Have a "Great" Day

[rebelone]

On my 2004 Monaco Camelot I tested the 12 volt bay heater with an ice cube. I
put it on top of the small thermal switch, after a few minutes the heater started. It had a small glow from the heater coil, not much heat. It was working. Just check to make sure what your heater is doing before you trash it as they do not put out a lot of heat. Just a thought? good luck
Rebel

[roscoesdad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rebelone On my 2004 Monaco Camelot I tested the 12 volt bay heater with an ice cube. I put it on top of the small thermal switch, after a few minutes the heater started. It had a small glow from the heater coil, not much heat. It was working. Just check to make sure what your heater is doing before you trash it as they do not put out a lot of heat. Just a thought? good luck Rebel

I took the element out of the heater. Applied 12 volts directly to the wires connected to the element. Checked that power was traveling through the element. Held the element in my hand and felt no heat. I think the element is burnt out, and no power is coming out of the curcuit board. I feel it has multipule problems.

[roscoesdad]

Ok, got the heater working. When I started this venture, the wires to the fan were broken. I soldered them back and the fan would run. I could not get the element to produce heat, even though it showed power going through the element. I could not figure how the element was bad and still have current flowing. Also the thermal fuse was bad. I found, the fan has to have power and be running before the element will produce heat. When I applied 12 volts to the fan wire, element wire, and then grounded the black wire, it came on and heated. Yay !!!!!!!!. Now to see if the thermo disc if functioning and I should be ready. Thanks to everyone for their advice.
Larry

[RonaldNC]

My unit has the bay heater, but I can't find the "thermo disc" to test the system (I want to try the ice cube test). Where is it located and what does it look like?

Thanks,

Ron